Tuesday, January 30, 2018

{Life Lately}

Hey y'all!  Tomorrow is the last day in January.  What the heck?!  I was thinking this weekend that in 6 months, I will be putting my fall decor out again. Ha! =)

January has been another busy month!  {as seen by my absence here}
Here's a quick look at what I've been up to!

This winter has been one for the record books here in Texas.  We had our snow day back in December that you can read about here & almost a month later - mother nature struck again, this time mainly in the form of ice & sleet...which as we know - completely shuts down Texas. School was canceled & most businesses in town were closed both Tuesday {16th} & Wednesday {17th}. I stayed home both days, not only because of the weather but also because I was sick.
 
 By Wednesday afternoon, I decided a visit to the doctor was in order.
Thankfully it wasn't the flu, just the "crud" that was going around.  Needless to say, Nola & I spent 2 days basically doing this...
But no worries, by that weekend temps were in the upper 70's.  Texas weather might be slightly bipolar.  Just sayin.  Mom & I decided to get out of the house and went to Houston to do a little shopping. 

This past weekend, Morgan & Bo had a sleepover at my house!  Colby & Jodie went out Friday night to celebrate her sister's 21st birthday.  Aside from a small little meltdown when he realized that his mom had left, he did great!  We played & he almost slept through the night {I of course got up no less than 20 times checking on him}.  Loved having him there!
After he left Saturday morning, Morgan & I made a quick trip to College Station and then came home and rested, baked cupcakes & went to a birthday party.
Morgan spent the night again on Saturday.  Sunday was church, the grocery store & then out to Corey & Amanda's to paint some furniture.  This weekend is the Super Bowl so I'll be hosting my annual party.  Nothing big or too exciting, just a few coworkers come over and we have way too much food & way too many laughs.  In a few days I start the countdown to my 39th birthday...the real question is HOW THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN?!  

I guess it's better than the alternative.

Monday, January 15, 2018

{Uptown Swirl 2018}

Happy Monday, friends!  We blinked & the weekend was over.  Friday night I spent some time out at Corey & Amanda's new house helping them paint & put together furniture.  And Saturday was the annual Uptown Wine Swirl in downtown Brenham.  This was our 4th year to go & it's always so much fun.  It was a gorgeous night {though a tad chilly} & our group was back up to 14!!  
For $35, you get a wine glass & you get to walk around downtown and sample wine at all the stores.  I mean, it doesn't get much better than that!
After about 4 hours of shopping & sipping, we ended the night with margaritas at Mariachi's.  Tonight we are bracing for another winter storm...temps in the 20's, along with possible ice & snow.  This winter has been crazy!  I mean, we've actually had one!! And this winter-loving lady is LOVING it!! =) Stay warm & cozy!!

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

{2018 Goals}

Happy Wednesday!  Hard to believe we are already almost 2 weeks into the new year.  Christmas is officially packed away & college football is officially over...such a sad week. =(

I've never been much of a "resolution" girl because let's face it, by about week 2, we are already giving up & throwing in the towel.  But, I did decide to set a few "goals" for 2018.  Will I reach them?  Who knows!  I'm sure I will fail a time or two {or twenty}, but as long as I start again - that's what counts, right?
{One: Drink Less Diet Coke}
Not going to lie, this is going to be a tough one.  I'm not near as addicted as some people, but last year - it got pretty bad. I drink plenty of water too...but my DC consumption definitely needs to decrease.  I am being realistic & not saying I am going to give it up completely, but I need to drink less.  I switched to Diet Green Tea this week {gotta have something other than water first thing in the morning} & so far so good!

{Two: Spend Less Money}
This is going to be another tough one. Y'all, I like change when it comes to my house!  I never spend a lot of money on anything because of this fact, but it still adds up.  Target, Homegoods, Ikea...they get me every. single. time.  I am going to try really hard to work with what I have or only buy new stuff when I sell enough old stuff to pay for it. I'm not even going to mention the fact that I would love to redo my cabinets, granite & floors. Ha!

{Three: Open My Home More To Others}
Y'all, I absolutely LOVE opening my home to others.  Is it a lot of work?  Yep, you betcha.  But it's one of my favorite things about owning my own home.  I did much better at this last year...I hosted 2 baby showers, a Super Bowl party, National Night Out, a Halloween party, a cookie exchange party & a New Year's Eve party.  Wonder if I can top that this year?

{Four: Finish Christmas Shopping By December 1st}
Ok, so I have said this many times before & it's never happened. I was almost finished this year but I still had a few last minute ones that I struggled with.  I feel like when I wait so long, I'm buying gifts just to have a gift...and I'm not putting a lot of thought into it.  I'm not going to go Christmas shopping right now, but when I am shopping - I'm going to have a mental list of who I need to buy for. 

{Five: Put Me First More}
I am sure some of you read that & thought man, how selfish of her!  But let me explain.  I absolutely love helping people & giving 110% to everything I do...friends, family, work...everything.  I love to volunteer. I love to plan & coordinate things.  I rarely say no {ok, I never say no}.  Do I want to stop doing all that?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!!  But y'all, sometimes its just too much.  And I need to learn to recognize that...know when I need to step back & take a minute for myself...& most importantly - not feel guilty about it.  

So there ya go!  My 2018 goals.  I'll recap in December & see which ones I stuck to & which ones I failed miserably at. =)  Have you set any goals or resolutions for this year?


Sunday, January 7, 2018

{2017: Year In Review}

Hey Y'all!  Hard to believe that yet another year had come & gone.  It's true what they say - the older you get, the faster they go.  It seems like just yesterday I was writing my 2016 year in review & here we go again!

2017 was a good year.  Lots of exciting things & thankfully nothing too bad.  Really & truly, that's all one can hope for, right?  Let's take a look back! {warning...it's a long one!}

In January, we started off the year with a little cold snap...no snow but we did have ice!
The next weekend was our annual Wine Swirl!  Our group shrunk this year cause several were expecting sweet babies!  You can read all about it here.
I ended the month with taking maternity pics for one of those pregnant ladies, my sister-in-law Jodie!
In February, we celebrated Nola's 2 year adoption anniversary here.
Had a Super Bowl party...
Hosted a shower for Jodie & sweet baby Bo...
Celebrated my 38th birthday.
I took a "me" day which has become my new favorite birthday tradition...
And did a little work in my backyard by adding a few flowerbeds...
The highlight of March was when we welcomed sweet baby Bo on March 17th.  You can read all about it here.  
I ended the month with a trip to Warrenton...and more baby snuggles!
 
In April, we went to an Aggie baseball game...
And celebrated Easter...
 
I ended the month with more yard work & more baby snuggles.
I started off May by celebrating Cinco de Mayo with friends.
Another successful Maifest...
We honored the 2 year Blue Bell layoff anniversary...
Hosted another baby shower at my house, this one for Carol & sweet Megan...
Mason "graduated" from St. Paul's...
I ended the month with a little more backyard work & a crawfish boil!
 
In June, Bo had his very first sleepover at my house!  He slept great...I got up every 30 minutes to check on him. =)
Celebrated Morgan's birthday...
Had the Blue Bell picnic...
And spent lots of nights at the ballpark watching Mason play All Stars.
At the end of June, I had the honor of photographing the birth of sweet Addie.
Babies, babies & more babies...a few days later, Carol & Rob welcomed Megan!
I am not sure where the rest of the month of July went.  I had a pretty uneventful July 4th, followed by several weeks of crazy Texas heat.  I took a Instagram "class" & my account grew from a few hundred to almost 2,000.  I started hosting hashtags & giveaways and have collaborated with a few companies.  I now have over 12,000 followers...it's been crazy!  You can follow me here.
August flew by as well.  I spent time with my favorites...
Went with Amanda & the kids to help pick out the granite for their new house...
Survived the solar eclipse...
And witnessed one of the most devastating Hurricane's to hit the Texas coast.  Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 24th as a category 4 storm.  Rockport was demolished & Houston received over 50" of rain.  The destruction it left behind was unfathomable. You can read more about it here.
But, the skies eventually cleared & we were reminded of God's promises.
September was about the start of Fall...
The return of Aggie football...
High school football & junior high football for Mason...
Another trip to Warrenton for the Fall show...
The Washington County Fair...
And a new vehicle!
In October I hosted our annual National Neighborhood Night Out party...
Went to the Homecoming parade...
 And had a garage sale...
We went on our annual football road trip, to Florida this time!  It was a LONG, but FUN trip...and you can read all about it here.
There was also some pumpkin carving...
Morgan's first horse show...
And a Halloween party at my house!
I ended the month with trick or treaters & the Astros winning the World Series!
I kicked off November by going to an Aggie game with Amy, Khloe & Mason. You can read all about it here.
 Our annual ladies' night at Allied Ace...
Serving meals at the Faith Mission on Thanksgiving Day...
And a lot of Black Friday {& Thursday} shopping...
December!  My absolute favorite month of the year.
It began with a sleepover...
Some NYC trip planning...
Cookie making...
And a cookie exchange party at my house.  You can read about it here.
The Christmas Stroll parade...
And SNOW!!!  You can read about our snow day here.
Amanda, Morgan, John & I went to NYC!! You can read about it here, here, here & here.
We celebrated Christmas with a candlelight Christmas Eve service at church & Christmas Day at my mom's. {After Santa visited Nola of course}
I ended the year & rang with the new one with all my favorite people at my house!
LOVE looking back at the past 365 days.  Y'all, my life is not perfect.  FAR from it actually.  Has it gone as "planned"?  Nope.  Not even close.
But I can't complain. Life is good.🖤

Happy New Year!